Chapter XVII: Appendix: III

FORMER SOCIALIST PREMIER OF FINLAND ON BOLSHEVISM

The following letter was addressed to Mr. Santeri Nuorteva, who, it will be remembered, was appointed Minister to America by the Revolutionary Government of Finland. The author of the letter, Oskar Tokoi, was the first Socialist Prime Minister in the world. He is a Socialist of long standing, who has always been identified with the radical section of the movement. Mr. Nuorteva, it should be added, is himself a strong supporter of the Bolsheviki, and is their accredited American representative.

ARCHANGEL, _September 10, 1918._

SANTERI NUORTEVA,

_Fitchburg, Mass._:

DEAR COMRADE,--I deem it my duty to appeal to you and to
other comrades in America in order to be able to make clear to you
the trend of events here.

The situation here has become particularly critical. We, the
Finnish refugees, who, after the unfortunate revolution, had to
flee from Finland to Russia, find ourselves to-day in a very
tragic situation. A part of the former Red Guardists who fled here
have joined the Red Army formed by the Russian Soviet Government;
another part has formed itself as a special Finnish legion, allied
with the army of the Allied countries; and a third part, which has
gone as far as to Siberia, is prowling about there, diffused over
many sections of the country, and there have been reports that a
part of those Finns have joined the ranks of the Czecho-Slovaks.
The Finnish masses, thus divided, may therefore at any time get
into fighting each other, which indeed would be the greatest of
all misfortunes. It is therefore necessary to take a clear
position, and to induce all the Finns to support it, and we hope
that you as well, over in America, will support it as much as is
in your power.

During these my wanderings I have happened to traverse Russia from
one end to another, and I have become deeply convinced that Russia
is not able to rise from this state of chaos and confusion by her
own strength and of her own accord. The magnificent economic
revolution, which the Bolsheviki in Russia are trying now to bring
about, is doomed in Russia to complete failure. The economic
conditions in Russia have not even approximately reached a stage
to make an economic revolution possible, and the low grade of
education, as well as the unsteady character of the Russian
people, makes it still more impossible.

It is true that magnificent theories and plans have been laid
here, but their putting into practice is altogether impossible,
principally because of the following reasons: The whole propertied
class--which here in Russia, where small property ownership mainly
prevails, is very numerous--is opposing and obstructing;
technically trained people and specialists necessary in the
industries are obstructing; local committees and sub-organs make
all systematic action impossible, as they in their respective
fields determine things quite autocratically and make everything
unsuccessful which should be based on a strong, coherent, and in
every respect minutely conceived system as a social production
should be based. But even if all these, in themselves
unsurmountable obstacles, could be made away with, there remains
still the worst one--and that is the workers themselves.

It is already clear that in the face of such economic conditions
the whole social order has been upset. Naturally only a small part
of the people will remain backing such an order. The whole
propertied class belongs to the opponents of the government,
including the petty bourgeoisie, the craftsmen, the small
merchants, the profiteers. The whole Intellectual class and a
great part of the workers are also opposing the government. In
comparison with the entire population only a small minority
supports the government, and, what is worse to the supporters of
the government, are rallying all the hooligans, robbers, and
others to whom this period of confusion promises a good chance of
individual action. It is also clear that such a régime cannot stay
but with the help of a stern terror. But, on the other hand, the
longer the terror continues the more disagreeable and hated it
becomes. Even a great part of those who from the beginning could
stay with the government and who still are sincere Social
Democrats, having seen all this chaos, begin to step aside, or to
ally themselves with those openly opposing the government.
Naturally, as time goes by, there remains only the worst and the
most demoralized element. Terror, arbitrary rule, and open
brigandage become more and more usual, and the government is not
able at all to prevent it. And the outcome is clearly to be
foreseen--the unavoidable failure of all this magnificently
planned system.

And what will be the outcome of that? My conviction is that as
soon as possible we should turn toward the other road--the road of
united action. I have seen, and I am convinced that the majority
of the Russian people is fundamentally democratic and
whole-heartedly detests a reinstitution of autocracy, and that
therefore all such elements must, without delay, be made to unite.
But it is also clear that at first they, even united, will not be
able to bring about order in this country on their own accord. I
do not believe that at this time there is in Russia any social
force which would be able to organize the conditions in the
country. For that reason, to my mind, we should, to begin with,
frankly and honestly rely on the help of the Allied Powers. Help
from Germany cannot be considered, as Germany, because of her own
interests, is compelled to support the Bolshevik rule as long as
possible, as Germany from the Bolshevik rule is pressing more and
more political and economic advantages, to such an extent even
that all of Russia is becoming practically a colony of Germany.
Russia thus would serve to compensate Germany for the colonies
lost in South Africa.

A question presents itself at once whether the Allied Powers are
better. And it must be answered instantly that neither would they
establish in Russia any Socialist society. Yet the democratic
traditions of these countries are some surety that the social
order established by them will be a democratic one. It is clear as
day that the policy of the Allied Powers is also imperialistic,
but the geographical and economic position of these countries is
such that even their own interests demand that Russia should be
able to develop somewhat freely. The problem has finally evolved
into such a state of affairs where Russia must rely on the help
either of the Allies or Germany; we must choose, as the saying
goes, "between two evils," and, things being as badly mixed as
they are, the lesser evil must be chosen frankly and openly. It
does not seem possible to get anywhere by dodging the issue.
Russia perhaps would have saved herself some time ago from this
unfortunate situation if she had understood immediately after the
February Revolution the necessity of a union between the more
democratic elements. Bolshevism undoubtedly has brought Russia a
big step toward her misfortune, from which she cannot extricate
herself on her own accord.

Thus there exists no more any purely Socialist army, and all the
fighting forces and all those who have taken to arms are fighting
for the interests of the one or the other group of the Great
Powers. The question therefore finally is only this--in the
interests of which group one wants to fight. The revolutionary
struggles in Russia and in Finland, to my mind, have clearly
established that a Socialist society cannot be brought about by
the force of arms and cannot be supported by the force of arms,
but that a Socialist order must be founded on a conscious and
living will by an overwhelming majority of the nations, which is
able to realize its will without the help of arms.

But now that the nations of the world have actually been thrown
into an armed conflict, and the war, which in itself is the
greatest crime of the world, still is raging, we must stand it. We
must, however, destroy the originator and the cause of the war,
the militarism, by its own arms, and on its ruins we must build,
in harmony and in peace--not by force, as the Russian Bolsheviki
want--a new and a better social order under the guardianship of
which the people may develop peacefully and securely.

I have been explaining to you my ideas, expecting that you will
publish them. You over in America are not able to imagine how
horrible the life in Russia at the present time is. The period
after the French Revolution surely must have been as a life in a
paradise compared with this. Hunger, brigandage, arrests, and
murders are such every-day events that nobody pays any attention
to them. Freedom of assemblage, association, free speech, and free
press is a far-away ideal which is altogether destroyed at the
present time. Arbitrary rule and terror are raging everywhere,
and, what is worst of all, not only the terror proclaimed by the
government, but individual terror as well.

My greetings to all friends and comrades.

OSKAR TOKOI.

THE END

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Plechanov never formally joined the Menshevik faction, I believe, but his writings showed that he favored that faction and the Mensheviki acknowledged his intellectual leadership.

[2] They had gained one member since the election.

[3] Quoted by Litvinov, _The Bolshevik Revolution: Its Rise and Meaning_, p. 22. Litvinov, it must be remembered, was the Bolshevik Minister to Great Britain. His authority to speak for the Bolsheviki is not to be questioned.

[4] The date is Russian style--March 12th, our style.

[5] _The State in Russia--Old and New_, by Leon Trotzky; _The Class Struggle_, Vol. II, No. 2, pp. 213-221.

[6] This document is printed in full at the end of the volume as Appendix. I

[7] The author of the present study is responsible for the use of italics in this document.

[8] Litvinov, _The Bolshevik Revolution: Its Rise and Meaning_, p. 30.

[9] Lenine is not quite accurate in his statement of Marx's views nor quite fair in stating the position of the "opportunists." The argument of Marx in _The Civil War in France_ is not that the proletariat must "break down" the governmental machinery, but that it must _modify_ it and _adapt_ it to the class needs. This is something quite different, of course. Moreover, it is the basis of the policy of the "opportunists." The Mensheviki and other moderate Socialists in Russia were trying to _modify_ and _adapt_ the political state.

[10] The reference is to Karl Kautsky, the great German exponent of Marxian theory.

[11] _The New International_ (American Bolshevik organ), June 30, 1917.

[12] _The New International_, July 23, 1917.

[13] Litvinov, _op. cit._, p. 31.

[14] _The New International_, April, 1918.

[15] See, _e.g._, the article by Lenine, _New International_, April, 1918, and Litvinov, _op. cit._

[16] See my _Syndicalism, Industrial Unionism, and Socialism_ for the I.W.W. philosophy.

[17] Bryant, _Six Months in Red Russia_, p. 141.

[18] This appeal is published as Appendix I at the end of this volume.

[19] Certain Soviets of Soldiers at the Front had decided that they would stay in their trenches for defensive purposes, but would obey no commands to go forward, no matter what the military situation.

[20] Figures supplied by the Russian Information Bureau.

[21] "It was with a deep and awful sense of the terrible failure before us that I consented to become Premier at that time," Kerensky told the present writer.

[22] The story was reproduced in _New Europe_ (London), September, 1917.

[23] _The New International_, April, 1918.

[24] See p. 254.

[25] See the letter of E. Roubanovitch, Appendix II, p. 331.

[26] _Justice_, London, January 31, 1918.

[27] _Justice_, London, May 16, 1918.

[28] _Vide_ Special Memorandum to the International Socialist Bureau on behalf of the Revolutionary Socialist party of Russia.

[29] See Appendix III.

[30] _Pravda_, July 5, 1918.

[31] February, 1918, Protest Against Recognition of Bolshevik Representative by British Labor Party Conference.

[32] Proclamation to People of the Northern Province, etc., December, 1918

[33] _The New International_, April, 1918.

[34] The dates given are according to the Russian calendar.

[35] See the Rakitnikov Memorandum--Appendix.

[36] _The New International_, April, 1918.

[37] The number of votes was over 36,000,000.

[38] _Vide_ Rakitnikov report.

[39] Twenty-three members of the Executive Committee were arrested and, without any trial, thrown into the Fortress of Peter and Paul.

[40] From a Declaration of Protest by the Executive Committee of the Third National Congress of Peasants' Delegates (anti-Bolshevist), sent to the Bolshevik Congress of Soviets of Workmen, Soldiers, and Peasants, but not permitted to be read to that assembly.

[41] _L'Ouorier Russe_, May, 1918.

[42] _Idem_.

[43] _Izvestya_, July 28, 1918.

[44] _Pravda_, October 8, 1918 (No. 216).

[45] "Agents-Provocateurs and the Russian Revolution," article in _Justice,_, August 16, 1916, by J. Tchernoff.

[46] Most of the information in this paragraph is based upon an article in the Swiss newspaper _Lausanne Gazette_ by the well-known Russian journalist, Serge Persky, carefully checked up by Russian Socialist exiles in Paris.

[47] Joseph Martinek, in the _Cleveland Press_.

[48] _Justice_ (London), January 23, 1919.

[49] _Justice_, London, January 31, 1918.

[50] Jean Jaurès, _Studies in Socialism_.

[51] F. Engels, 1895, Preface to Marx's _Civil War in France_.

[52] The reader is referred to my _Sidelights on Contemporary Socialism_ and my _Karl Marx: His Life and Works_ for a fuller account of these struggles.

[53] Marx, _A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy_, p. 12.

[54] Editorial entitled "Bolshevik Problems," in _The Liberator_, April, 1918.

[55] The article by Lenine quoted by Mr. Eastman appeared in _The New International_, February, 1918.

[56] _The Bolsheviks and the Soviets_, by Albert Rhys Williams, p. 6.

[57] _Ansprache der Centralbehorde an den Bund, vom Marz, 1850_: Anhang IX der Enthullerngen über den Kommunisten-process Zu Koln, p. 79.

[58] Lenine, _The Soviets at Work_.

[59] Wilhelm Liebknecht, _No Compromise, No Political Trading_, p. 30.

[60] _Socialism: a Summary and Interpretation of Socialist Principles_, by John Spargo, p. 215 (1st edition Macmillan, 1916).

[61] Liebknecht, _No Compromise, No Political Trading_, p. 16.

[62] Liebknecht, _No Compromise, No Political Trading_, p. 28.

[63] This subject is treated in the following, among others, of my books:

_Socialism: a Summary and Interpretation of Socialist Principles_; _Applied Socialism_; _Syndicalism, Industrial Unionism, and Socialism_; _Elements of Socialism_ (Spargo and Arner), and _Social Democracy Explained_.

[64] _The New International_, July 23, 1917.

[65] Conversation with Trotzky reported by E.A. Ross, _Russia in Upheaval_, p. 208.

[66] Kautsky, _The Social Revolution_, p. 137.

[67] Lenine, _The Soviets at Work_.

[68] Lenine, _op. cit._

[69] Lenine, _op. cit._

[70] The best expositions of Guild Socialism are _Self-Government in Industry_, by G.D.H. Cole, and _National Guilds_, by S.G. Hobson, edited by A.R. Orage.

[71] Lenine, _op. cit._

[72] Lenine, _op. cit._

[73] Lenine, _op. cit._

[74] Lenine, _op. cit._

[75] Lenine, _op. cit._

[76] Of course, Trotzky's statement to Professor Ross about paying the capitalists "5 or 6 per cent. a year" was frankly a compromise.

[77] E.A. Ross, _Russia in Upheaval_, pp. 206-207.

[78] Litvinov, _The Bolshevik Revolution: Its Rise and Meaning_, p. 39.

[79] Marx and Engels speak of the "idiocy of rural life" from which capitalism, through the concentration of agriculture and the abolition of small holdings, would rescue the peasant proprietors (_Communist Manifesto_). In _Capital_ Marx speaks of the manner in which modern industry "annihilates the peasant, _the bulwark of the old society_" (Vol. I, p. 513). Liebknecht says that in 1848 it was the _city_ which overthrew the corrupt citizen king and the _country_ which overthrew the new republic, chose Louis Bonaparte and prepared the way for the Empire. "The French peasantry created an empire through their blind fear of proletarian Socialism" (_Die Grund und Bodenfrage_). Kautsky wrote, "Peasants who feel that they are not proletarians, but true peasants, are not only not to be won over to our cause, _but belong to our most dangerous adversaries_" (_Dat Erfurter Programm und die Land-agitation_). It would be easy to compile a volume of such utterances.

[80] Walling, _Russia's Message_, p. 118. The italics are mine.

[81] "Cabinet lands" are the crown lands, property of the Czar and royal family.

[82] Ross, _op. cit._, pp. 206-207.

[83] _Justice_, London, August 1, 1917.

[84] The figures given are quoted by Sack, in _The Birth of Russian Democracy_, and were originally published by the Bolshevist Commissaire of Commerce.

[85] _Parvus et le Parti Socialiste Danois_, by P.G. La Chesnais.

[86] La Chesnais, _op. cit._

[87] In "_L'Humanité_," article condensed in _Justice_, January 31, 1918.

[88] International Notes, _Justice_, January 3, 1918.

[89] _The Disarmament Cry_, by N. Lenine, in _The Class Struggle_, May-June, 1918.

[90] _The "Disarmament" Cry_, by N. Lenine, _The Class Struggle_, May-June, 1918.

[91] Most, if not all, dates in this document are given as in the Russian calendar, which is thirteen days behind ours.

[92] This refers, doubtless, to the different basis for voting applied to the peasants and the industrial workers, as provided in the Soviet Constitution.